Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ____________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 15.052 March 24, 2006 Contents of Vol. 15.052 Date: March 24, 2006 1) kasha varnishes (Yankev Berger) 2) Di mishpokhe Opatoshu (Florette Lynn) 3) Di mishpokhe Opatoshu (Max Appelbaum) 4) Nemen fun yidishe kinderlkh (Mikhoyel Basherives) 5) Fiddler on the Roof (Keyle Goodman) 6) pushke (Leslie Reich) 7) Mayn yingele (Al Grand) 8) balebesl (Leon Perlman) 9) Machine Translation Systems (Mark Fishel) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: March 9 Subject: Kashe varnishkes or kashevarnishkes? Folks, The various postings on this tasty appetizer have been nagging at me, because I can't satisfy myself that the more probable explanation is correct: kasha (buckweat groats) + vareniky (dumplings or noodles of some sort) = kashe varnishkes. I have this alternate hypothesis that it comes from 'kashevar' which is a Russian army regimental cook, and that kashevarnishkes is a 'patrave' thrown together by a 'kashevar' for the troops. Mind you, 'kashevar' itself, very likely comes from: kasha (buckwheat groats) + var (to boil) = kashevar (one who boils buckwheat groats -- logical). Here is the 'Devil's Advocate' thought that occurred to me yesterday, which is why I am writing. We say: 1. penanes mit smetane (Bananas with sour cream) 2. borshch mit kartofl (Borsht with potatoes) So why do we NOT say 3. Kashe mit varnishkes? One might argue that one, indeed, DID say kashe mit varnishkes, except for the fact that I never heard it said. If you rejoin that it was an elision, then one needs to ask why no such elision took place in the first two examples. I am interested in whatever viewpoints readers are willing to submit. Please note that a consensus either way will not ruin any vast eternal plan of the Creator for our drab and sordid lives. Regards, Yankev Berger 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: March 15 Subject: Di mishpokhe Opatoshu That name brings back many memories to me. I attended the Arbeter Ring Mittleshul held every Saturday and Sunday at the Washington Irving HS in Manhattan and one of our teachers was a wonderful lady we called Mrs. Opatoshu. She often spoke about her son, the actor who she referred to as "my Dovidl." Florette Lynn 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: March 17 Subject: Di mishpokhe Opatoshu Ikh gedenk dayn bobe (ikh gedenk nisht ir nomen). Zi iz geven mayn lerern in der umpartayisher shule in der bronx. Ven ikh bin gegangen in der umpartayisher mitlshule in Harlem, hob ikh zikh bagegnt mit dayn tatn Dudl. Er iz geven a student. Er is shpeter geven an actyor mit dem Artef teater in New York. Nokh shpeter, ven ikh bin gegangen in der Ay Ay Ay (internatsionale arbeter ordn)universitet, iz dayn zayde Yoysef Opatoshu geven a lerer. Ikh hob a bukh velkhe Yoysef Opatashu hot geshribn, "Ven Poyln is farfaln". Max Applebaum 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: March 15 Subject: nemen fun yidishe kinderlekh I have lost my copy of a very well-known post Holocaust poem which I think is titled "Nemen fun yidishe kinderlekh" and cannot locate it by an internet search. Does anyone have the words and could you remind me who is the famous author? Aykh, a sheynem dank, Mikhoyel Basherives 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: March 15 Subject: Fiddler on the Roof I don't often respond to the postings on Mendele but I was delighted with the Japanese "Fiddler On The Roof." Ikh shrayb nit oft vegn di briv oyf "mendele" ober es iz mir geven aza fargenign hern "A fidler afn dakh" in der yapanisher shprakh. A groysn dank, Keyle Goodman 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: March 21 Subject: pushke I had always assumes that the etymology of this word is connected with the English "Pyx,, meaning a box. Pyx comes from the Latin and Greek "Pyxis," called after the tree (box tree) from which boxes are often made. It is my supposition that the English word "Escrow" is not derived from from escroll and scroll, but is cognate with the the Hebrew for boxwood, "Escrowa os" or Eshcrowa." The Talmud in Tractate Yuma says that the lots used by the High Priest on Yom Kippur (to decide which goat went to the wilderness) were originally made of "Escrowa Wood". A deed or money in escrow is effectively boxed! Leslie Reich 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: March 21 Subject: Mayn Yingele The current edition of the English Forward [03/17] quotes the first four stanzas of "Mayn Yingele" by Morris Rosenfeld incorrectly. The Yiddish poet Rosenfeld was born in the Suwalki region of Poland in 1862. He came to New York in 1886 following his immigration to London. Rosenfeld worked as a tailor in clothing factories and his poetry reflects the hardships of sweatshop conditions for both the workers and their families. I find it impossible to read the poem without having my eyes well up with tears as I recall my mother singing that song to me when I was a small child. Here is the full text [my transliteration] which also rectifies the slightly mangled Forward text: Ikh hob a kleynem yingele, A zunele gor fayn! Ven ikh derze im, dakht zikh mir, Di gantse velt iz mayn. Nor zeltn zeltn ze ikh im, Mayn sheynem, ven er vakht, Ikh tref im imer shlofendik, Ikh ze im nor baynakht. Di arbet traybt mikh fri aroys Un lozt mikh shpet tsurik; A fremd iz mir mayn eygn layb! A fremd mayn kinds a blik! Ikh kum tserklemterheyt aheym, In fintsternish gehilt, Mayn bleykher froy dertseylt mir bald, Vi fayn dos kind zikh shpilt; Vi zis es redt, vi klug es fregt: "O, mame, gute ma, Ven kumt un brengt a peni mir Mayn guter, guter pa?" Ikh her es tsu un ayl: es muz, Yo, yo, es muz geshen! Di foterlibe flakert oyf: Es muz mayn kind mikh zen!... Ikh shtey bay zayn gelegerl Un ze, un her, un sha! A troym bavegt di lipelekh: "O, vu iz, vu iz pa?" Ikh kush di bloye eygelekh, Zey efenen zikh - "O, kind!" Zey zeen mikh, zey zeen mikh Un shlisn zikh geshvind. "Do shteyt dayn papa, tayerer, A penele dikh, na!" A troym bavegt di lipelekh: "O, vu iz, vu iz pa?" Ikh blayb tseveytikt un tseklemt, Farbitert un ikh kler: Ven du dervakst a mol, mayn kind, Gefinstu mir nisht mer..." Al Grand 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: March 21 Subject: balebesl What is the meaning of "balebesel"? I have gotten several answers, none of which make any sense. I have a video featuring Moyshe Oysher, which is titled "Der Vilna Balabesel." In this video he plays the part of a cantor in a small town in Lithuania who is lured away to perform in the opera in the big city. Leon Perlman [Moderator's note to save readers some dictionary searching: Uriel Weinreich defines the term as a "newly wed man."] 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: March 21 Subject: Machine Translation Systems Does anyone know where there exist machine translation systems that translate between Yiddish and other languages, e.g. English? Or whether there exists a sentence-aligned parallel corpus of Yiddish and English? I have an assignment of building a MT system and would like to do it for Yiddish and English. Thanks in advance, Mark Fishel ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 15.052 Please do not use the "reply" key when writing to Mendele. 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